Chapter 7
Brainiac 5 appeared in Imra's hospital room almost immediately after Garth's Legion ring had stopped transmitting. Everyone was still standing and barely had time to register his arrival before House said, "That was fast", in an uninterested tone of voice.
Brainy looked affronted. "For your information", he said, "time travel requires an exceedingly precise calculation of coordinates, or one might end up far from one's original destination; however, the properties of accurate temporal plane journeys allow for –"
"Could you please stop that?" asked House irritably. "Why must you go on like that? What are you, a super-genius or something?"
Brainy was offended even more by that. "I possess a twelfth-level intelligence…"
"And I have an IQ that borders on genius", said House. "That's why I'm what people refer to as a brilliant diagnostician."
"Can we get back to the medicine, please?" Thirteen asked pointedly. "Hi", she said to Brainy. "I'm Dr. Remy Hadley. These are Drs. Eric Foreman, Chris Taub, Lawrence Kutner, Allison Cameron, and Robert Chase. We're all helping out on Miss Ardeen's case."
"Thank you", said Brainy. He went over to inspect Imra, carefully regarding the monitors and her response to stimuli. Then he straightened and turned to the doctors. "I'll need a full briefing on what has been happening – tests which have been run, diagnoses which have been discussed or ruled out, symptoms, and anything and everything else about this case."
"Excuse me", said House, tramping over to Brainy, "This is my case."
"Have you any knowledge of the way a Titanian's physiology works?" Brainy questioned in a deceptively calm tone.
"No, but they don't call me the U.S' best diagnostician for nothing. You tell me what I need to know, and I'll take it from there."
"I'm afraid it is not that simple. There are individual characteristics to consider – additional biological genetics to take into account, Imra's telepathy, her unique abilities, enhanced psyche, Titanian body systems…"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it!" said House. "But you're green with three circles on your head – you're going to attract a lot of unwanted attention, and since we don't conduct medical tests in the ward…"
"That is precisely why I programmed a holoring to bring with me", said Brainy, slipping on said ring and transforming into a perfectly ordinary-looking human.
"You did all that in one minute?" House sounded impressed.
"Two days, actually. I programmed the vortex to take me to one minute after our conversation."
Foreman, Chase, Cameron, Thirteen, Taub, and Kutner had been watching the argument with an air of interest as they watched two intellectuals battle it out, while the other Legionnaires had been witnessing the same quarrel with bored expressions which said, "I knew this was going to happen." But all were waiting to see who would win – the antisocial, misanthropic doctor with hundreds of solved medical cases to his name; or the relatively unknown, superhero twelfth-level intellect from the future.
Neither did. House seemed to struggle with himself for a moment before offering his hand to Brainy and saying, "How about we work together then? With two brilliant people presiding over the case, we'll have it solved in no time."
His employees looked on in shock, while Brainy thought it over for a few seconds and reached out his hand to shake House's.
"Wonderful!" exclaimed White-hair Luornu. "Now that that's settled, can we please get back to solving Imra's case?"
"Good idea", said House. "Differential diagnosis, my office, now."
As they filed out, Garth attracted Brainy's attention with a tap on the shoulder. "Brainy…" he said in a low voice. "Imra…is going to be all right, isn't she?"
Brainy looked at him and sighed. "I assure you, Garth, I will do my utmost to make certain of that."
"Right", said House, twirling his cane and with his marker in hand. "What do we have to work with here?"
His office was more crowded than it had ever been before – with five Legionnaires and six doctors - excluding himself - all inside, some had had to resort to sitting on the floor and coffee counter or remain standing.
The whiteboard House was pacing in front of now bore the words, "HEART ATTACK", "SEIZURES", "LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS", "RESPIRATORY ARREST", and "CLOTS". House had erased "ALBINO" because it no longer applied to his patient, now that he knew the true nature of her heritage. Of the many diagnoses that could be causing all of Imra's problems, they had eliminated cardiovascular disease, cardiomyopathy, epilepsy, inflammation, and hereditary diseases. Toxins, which had been initially ruled out because it didn't fit all the symptoms, was now back on the table due to the fact that there were myriad poisons floating around in the 31st century, and an infection was still a distinct possibility.
Everyone was silent. This case had been taken out of their normal boundaries, and they weren't sure what would apply. Only House and Brainy seemed to know what they were doing. House was looking around expectantly, and Brainy was studying the whiteboard and Imra's file.
"Clots?" he demanded. "You had me bring two units of Titanian A positive because Imra has a clotting problem? I thought you required the blood because she had a bleeding disorder."
"I said, bring a few units of Titanian blood just in case she needs a transfusion", House corrected. "I never said anything about her being in immediate need of one."
"The most likely candidate right now is toxins", said Kutner, forestalling another argument. "How many of them could cause all of Imra's symptoms in the 31st century?" he asked Brainy.
"Twenty to thirty…" began Brainy.
"That's not too many", said Thirteen. "We could probably test for all of them and find out which one's making her sick."
"…thousand", Brainy finished.
"So how do we find out which one it is?" Luornu, now one person again, asked.
"If this were the 31st century, it might be possible to run through the universal medical database, but in this time, there is no feasible way to determine the correct toxin", said Brainy. He turned to House. "When you tested Imra, you drew her blood, am I correct?"
"Yeah", said House.
"May I examine it? I might be able to narrow the field a bit by the composition of her blood."
"If you mean the platelet choked plasma we drew two hours ago, be my guest."
Brainy frowned. "Exactly how much higher is her platelet count?" he questioned intently.
"About 42% more than that of a typical human female in her age group", replied Taub.
Brainy started pacing with his chin in his hand, muttering to himself. "The average Titanian has a platelet count of 3% above that of a typical Earthling…so Imra's count is approximately 38% higher than normal…that's second-level thrombocytosis…what do you use to check patients' brains in this age?" asked Brainy.
"An MRI or a CT scan", replied Foreman.
"MRI…" Brainy thought for a while, pulling the necessary information out of the vast stores of knowledge in his head. "Magnetic Resolution Imaging?" he asked. Foreman nodded. "Have you checked for myofibroblastic tumors?"
"We ruled out inflammation because it doesn't explain the seizures", began Chase.
"It does if there are also tumors in her lymphoid cells", Brainy replied.
"You think…lymphoma which metastasized to her brain?" Cameron asked.
"We drew her blood", said Taub. "We'd have seen mutations in her lymphocytes, but they were all normal."
"What about meningitis or encephalitis?" suggested Kutner.
"Not without a fever, psychosis, or nuchal rigidity", said Thirteen.
"I'm thinking both together", said Kutner.
"Meningoencephalitis?" Foreman looked at the table. "It does fit."
Cameron shook her head. "Without an elevated white count? Paraneoplastic syndrome or a surgery complication is more likely."
"No, it isn't", disagreed House. "Her immune system could very easily be compromised by now. You just want it to be something else because meningoencephalitis means she's probably going to die."
"What?" Garth looked up sharply.
"In this century, Garth", Brainy told him. "If it's meningoencephalitis, we can easily take her back to the future and treat her with the necessary antibiotic. I know for a fact Imra's condition is not due to a surgery complication – I performed that operation myself."
"You've found a cure for meningoencephalitis?" Chase asked.
"Yes, we have, and no, we can't tell you", said Brainy immediately. "Dr. Cameron could be right about paraneoplastic syndrome, but it is unlikely, as Imra isn't the right age."
"Well, then, hooray!" said House. "We've got our diagnosis. Take Miss Saturn back to the 31st century and treat her", said House.
"We can't take her back unless we're sure that's what she has", said Tinya. "If it's the wrong diagnosis, we can't risk coming back here again."
"We'll do a lumbar puncture to make certain that's what she's got", Cameron assured her.
"Oh, fine", said House. "Hurry up, then; I want to declare this case closed."
"It's not meningoencephalitis", said Brainy, studying Imra's file again.
"I thought you just said –" began House.
"I said we could treat her in the 31st century if she did have the disease; I never actually said that was the diagnosis, and upon closer study of her medical file, it does not fit."
"How do you –" started Foreman.
"House", Cuddy interrupted as she pushed his office door open. "Why are you conducting a differential with five non-doctors in this room?"
House pretended to think about that. "They're superheroes from the 31st century", he blurted.
"Dr. House!" exclaimed Chuck.
"Relax. She's not gonna believe me."
"Right", said Cuddy. "And I'm the King of the Enchanted Forest."
"See?" House turned to his employees. "Get an MRI, CT scan, and lumbar puncture. We might find something useful."
Chase, Cameron, Foreman, Thirteen, Taub, and Kutner filed out, followed by Brainy, who insisted that he be allowed to examine the tests, while the other Legionnaires discreetly exited and headed for Imra's room.
"House", said Cuddy, "Are you running blind?"
"Does it look like I'm running?" asked House. "I've got a cane."
"You're ordering tests without an actual reason."
"I have a reason – I'm looking for a diagnosis."
"You never run a test without some sort of hunch or diagnosis you're trying to prove", pointed out Cuddy. "But this time you're just getting your lackeys to do them in the hopes that you might find something. And you've got Chase and Cameron actively helping out in this case, plus five other teenagers with no medical degree or expertise sitting in on differentials. House, what's going on?"
"Correction: four teenagers with no medical degree", deflected House. "The fifth is a super-genius, and I think he has a degree – or maybe several."
"House", said Cuddy.
"I told you, they're from the future."
"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." Cuddy folded her arms and assumed her best 'Mom' pose. "Tell me the truth."
"That was the truth." House rapped his cane to the floor. "Have I ever concocted lies which were less than subtle?"
"Frequently."
House looked slightly taken aback. "Really? Okay, have I ever told a lie which you could see through immediately?"
Cuddy considered. "No", she said slowly. "What –"
Before she could finish her sentence, House's pager beeped. He pulled it out of his pocket and exhaled. "Great", he muttered. "My patient's gone into cardiac arrest", he informed Cuddy as he stalked out the door. Cuddy, not to be put off her interrogation, followed him.
When House and Cuddy arrived at Imra's room, the blinds were closed and the door was shut. Not to be deterred, House pulled the door open, and he and Cuddy got an excellent view of Foreman and Chase standing by while three Luornus stood ready by the medical equipment; Chuck holding a tray of medical tools; Tinya checking Imra's vitals; Brainy shouting instructions; and Garth bringing down an electrically charged fist onto Imra's body while Tinya's hand was still on her neck.
"Don't!" cried Cuddy, not immediately comprehending what she was seeing in her haste to keep Tinya from being electrocuted. But when the electricity charged into Imra, Tinya was unaffected.
"Pulse is back", she reported.
"Brain waves are normal", Purple-hair Luornu called.
"Blood pressure rising", said Orange-hair.
"Oxygen levels climbing back up", finished White-hair.
"Uh…LP equipment's safe", said Chuck.
"Excellent", said Brainy, looking over everything. He nodded to Chase and Foreman. "It's safe to continue the lumbar puncture."
"Excuse me, but what is going on here?" demanded Cuddy. "Were you holding electricity?" – this was directed to Garth – "Why is an unknown teenager giving orders and why", she asked the Luornus, as her pitch rose, "are there three of you?"
House, unperturbed by what had just happened, replied, "Because, and I repeat, they're superheroes from the 31st century with superpowers, and our patient's one of them. After witnessing that little scene, do you believe me?"
"I need to sit down", Cuddy said weakly, collapsing into the visitor's chair. "Can somebody please explain to me what the hell is going on?"
"Long story short…" started White-hair Luornu as she and her sisters remerged with each other.
"…we really are from the future, and we really do have powers", finished recombined Luornu. "We're all from the Legion of Superheroes, a universal peace-keeping and justice-dealing group of teenagers and young adults associated with, but not under the authority of, the United Planets."
"Planets", repeated Cuddy. "My God, is this real, or is it a dream?"
"It's very real", Tinya responded. "I know it's a lot to process." Next to her, Chase and Foreman began to resume their interrupted lumbar puncture.
"How can this be real?" Cuddy was looking at each person in the room as if hoping that someone would contradict what she'd just heard and seen with her own eyes and offer a rational, logical explanation, but none was forthcoming.
"Er, well…" began Chuck, handing the LP equipment back to Foreman, "in a thousand years, things have changed…a lot."
"Hand me the swab please", Chase requested, concentrating intently on his work.
"How long's it been since you did an LP?" Foreman asked as he dipped the ball of cotton in the dye and handed it to Chase.
"Don't know. Some time." Chase rubbed the cotton over Imra's back, leaving a bright orange circle. "Needle."
Meanwhile, Cuddy was still trying to come to terms with her vastly altered worldview. "So…you're all superheroes." She said the word as if it were foreign to her.
"Yes", said Chuck.
"And you've all got…powers."
"Right", said Garth, keeping a watchful eye on Chase's actions.
"Okay", Cuddy declared, "I'm officially out of shock…if only just."
"Great!" said House. "Now can I get on with the case?"
"Go ahead", Cuddy told him. Her eyes were still a little wild as she walked out of the room.
"That went well", Brainy remarked.
"Spinal fluid's clear", Chase announced, observing the tube of transparent liquid. "It's not meningoencephalitis."
"I could have easily told you that – and I did", Brainy said, self-satisfied. He accepted the phial from the Australian doctor. "Now, let me see what I can find out from this." And we walked away, muttering to himself as Thirteen and Taub came in.
"MRI's set up. You ready to move her?" asked Taub.
House glanced at his patient. "Yeah. Let's find out what this alien's got."
A/N: Righto, question-and-answer time! leath, about your question concerning the Trips' remergence, read Chapter 6 very carefully, especially the part when the Legionnaires are about to tell their secret. And don't forget, this fic is not in the DCU universe. It is based (mostly) in 21st century Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, in the "real" world. And also, I think I remember you mentioning that you hoped no one would notice Lightning Lad's prosthetic arm, way back in Chapter 3. I also remember guaranteeing all my readers that no one would notice it. The answer lies in the number of Triplicate Girl's holo-rings, and Brainy's reply to House's request - excuse me - demand that he travel to the 21st century. Brainy's answer also relates to the question posed by guardyanangel about why Imra didn't wear a holo-ring to hide her eyes. Oh, and Devilbunny, most of the Legionnaires in the 21st century look more or less human, so they wouldn't need to cover up their features. Now, if you guys still can't guess the answers by the end of the story, I'll reveal them to you outright in Chapter 9.
Thanks to Devilbunnyxox, TheEclipse93, leath, and The Violet Rose for their faithful reviews!
Disclaimer: Hmm....House and Legion. Well, I wouldn't mind owning the Legion, but I definitely wouldn't like owning House. He's a handful. Sadly, though, I own neither.